Haven’t had the opportunity to post many updates lately, but have a few posts in the works: YouTube celeb Brittani Louise Taylor’s interview about working with marketers, an analysis of why I’m lovin’ McDonald’s latest “social” campaign, digital Easter eggs and more.

Tonight, I’m speaking as a panelist at 313Digital’s Evolution of Data event in Ferndale, Mich. on Big Data. Check out the snazzy promo.

My adventures as a graphic designer began in the early 1990s, after purchasing a used EGA color monitor from a distantly related cousin. Until that point, a monotonous stream of amber-colored text defined my online existence, scrolling sluggishly upon a black field.

TheDraw, not as clumsy or random as a blaster or Content Aware filter.

Before Photoshop, Illustrator or Flash were commonplace, I cut my graphic designer teeth on TheDraw, a DOS-based freeware program, which I used to develop simple animations, “logos” and rudimentary artwork.

The Dangerous Lives of ANSI Artists
Many might not realize it, but life as “Icarus,” a young, budding ANSI artist on the cyber streets of yesteryear, was far from safe. A sinister ANSI underground threatened to corrupt my newfound love for digital self-expression.

Not altogether unlike the rather ridiculous dancing gangs of West Side Story, early digital artists would frequently combine creative forces to develop graphics for Bulletin Board Systems (BBS). Their work would often feature multiple signatures, flanked by their group’s tag, like digital graffiti. Creative challenges were made and accepted, with rival groups vying for dominance over a particular online locale. From Wikipedia:

The ANSI art scene was in a continual state of flux, with intense rivalry between artists and groups. In addition, ansi artists tended to switch loyalties often, moving from group to group. Groups would merge and restructure, or completely disband

All kidding aside, ANSI greats, like “Hoax,” “Lord Soth” and iCE’s “Tempus Thales” inspired me to form my own creative – and comparatively pacifistic – gang of artists, WHiP, in 1992. Although I had little success in recruiting notable talent, WHiP produced some amazing work for the local BBS scene – now forever lost.

Having recently uncovered relics from my digital past, here are some samples from the early 1990s (below). Definitely not the best representation of my ANSI work, but the sole remaining examples.

My feelings of nostalgia are intense after viewing these. The countless hours and passion I invested in my early ANSI work help me better appreciate how far we’ve come, and continue to fuel my desire to evolve and grow creatively.

Digging through my personal digital archives, I stumbled upon this college project from April 2004, which I completed as coursework for “Marketing Strategies for Entrepreneurs.” Yes, I went back to school a little later than some.

The assignment? Create, design and develop a product or service, then produce a strategic marketing plan to turn your vision into reality.

Having consulted for a number of years prior to attending college, and being known as a “Photoshop Gawd” in online communities, I had a clear advantage over my classmates. While they spent hours drawing stick figures or cutting photos from magazines, I developed my digital prototype and marketing collateral from scratch, using a few images I snagged online and a now prehistoric version of Photoshop.

My product? I developed FaceTime before iPhone existed. Don’t you just love the dime-sized front-facing camera?

Check out an excerpt from the 2004 strategy document:

With vFōn, you can communicate face-to-face with coworkers, friends, or family. Take high quality pictures, videos, or simply chat one-on-one, captured by a live-camera. Whether you are on vacation and want to see a familiar face, or want to demonstrate your latest Elvis impersonation to your Aunt Beulah, vFōn technology can transmit the data in real-time. The result? Communication perfected.

It even sounds like an Apple product. Later in the document, I explore the core target for the product:

The vFōn market primarily consists of young, urban individuals…The vFōn demographic, being technologically savvy and future-forward thinkers, may view the video phone technology as a necessity. Given the fact that vFōn is the first of its kind, its novelty may appeal to many consumers. The sleek design, futuristic image, and new technology of vFōn easily separate it from competitors.

While I received an “A” on the assignment, I’ve been sorely tempted to send my friends at Apple an invoice. I’ll waive the usual consulting fees in return for stock options and royalties. Heh.

Check out samples from the project’s final presentation. I hope you enjoy the cringe-worthy print ad write-up. Yeesh.